Really – That’s a Prize?

Flipping through the menus on my PS3 this weekend I saw an ad for Sony’s upcoming reality TV show “The Tester“. Contestants will battle it out and the winner will get a job as a tester. I thought, OK – this would be pretty cool if you were 17 and unemployed. The true horror unfolds when you look at the contestants’ profiles.

Take “Doc” for instance. This firefighter/paramedic is 36 years old and he wants to give up his current career for a testing gig?

Who is the target market for this train-wreck? Anyone that watches web-shows on their PS3 is surely savvy enough to know what a testing job is really like. (can you tighten up the graphics a little please?)

I broke into this industry through QA. I started at $10/hr, worked 70hr weeks, wrote 400 page test-plans that were obsolete days later. Being a tester pays garbage, is frustrating work and gets you next to zero recognition. I know a few folks that would consider themselves “professional testers”. They love what they do and they are awesome at it. God bless those souls. For everyone else a tester gig is a step in the door to a hallway with the most unbelievably painful gauntlet you’ve ever witnessed from which very few survive. Get through this gauntlet and you finally get to take your place in a real game industry job. Hey – it worked for me.

As usual Penny-Arcade hit the nail directly on the head.